Glossary of terms
If you are new to the University or have been here for a while, you may have wondered - what does that mean?
This glossary contains definitions of University of Reading and general higher education, terms phrases, abbreviations and acronyms that might need more explanation.
If you come across a term, not listed here that is not clear to you, ask us a question.
New Starter
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Access to curriculum software such as ArcGIS, EndNote, Matlab, Mendeley, Nvivo, SPSS and Stata wherever you are |
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Our virtual learning environment, where you will access teaching and assessment information for your modules
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Campus Jobs is the University’s centralised service providing part-time work opportunities across the Reading campuses working in the bars, catering, at the Open Days/in your department
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Commuter student
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A student who lives off campus and commutes several times a week to undertake their studies
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Digital Technology Services (DTS)
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IT support online and in-person throughout your study years.
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Disability Advisory Service (DAS )
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A dedicated team offering advice and guidance to students with any disability, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty
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Formal process of joining the University and your course for the forthcoming academic year.
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Student website covering all aspects of student life |
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The formal event at which a student who has successfully completed a course of study receives a certificate |
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IT help is available from the IT Service Desk located on the first floor of the library. Support is available for all your IT needs, including connecting to wi-fi, accessing software, setting up your email, calendar and Microsoft Teams |
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Short term laptop loan service in the Library |
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Microsoft office application suit, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook and 50GB OneDrive storage – free to all students - Login to O365 |
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Part 0, 1, 2 or 3
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The part refers to your year of study - First year / second year / third year of an undergraduate degree |
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The University’s wi-fi network
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Student website covering every aspect of student life. Useful throughout your study years
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The Wardens are members of University staff who live in hall and are there to offer help and support on any matters of concern. They have considerable experience and are an excellent source of advice and support on any academic or personal matter. To get in touch with your Warden, please call the Halls Hotline on 0800 029 1984.
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Your personalised news feed and portal |
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Professional Placement Year (PPY)
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Also known as ‘industrial year’ or ‘year in industry’. They all refer to completing a year of work as part of your degree between your second and final year of undergraduate study. |
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The union exists to represent, support and promote opportunities to all. As a student, you are automatically a member of the union, and entitled to have a say in directing the organisation. Reading Students' Union runs annual elections.
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RISIS
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The RISIS portal is home to your student records, where you can store and update personal information, select modules, see your timetable and marks, contact the Student Support Centre with a question, and much more!
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Student’s Union Advice Service
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Independent support service for all students – get advice |
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Support on Finance, accommodation, Welfare, Careers, Study, International and disability advice all under one roof in the Carrington Building, see services.
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Official app for current students – bringing together all essential information, helping you to stay organised, informed and connected. Details of Welcome Week activities will appear on the Welcome App
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Welcome app
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Official app for new students - Download the welcome app before you arrive (no login required). Use the app to build a schedule for your first week. |
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Your first week as a student. A time for your arrival and introduction to student and academic life. It’s important you prioritising attending your school introduction talks and compulsory halls welcome, and then fit in as many other activities you can manage – full details of academic and student life events taking place during welcome week can be viewed in the welcome app.
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Academic
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15-Day Turnaround |
A commitment to provide you with marks and feedback on your coursework no later than 15 working days after the deadline (if it was handed in on time) – note that working days do not include weekends and days that the University is closed |
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Academic Engagement |
Expectations for attendance and engagement in your course. Details of the University's expectations and the approach to the management of student attendance and engagement are set out in theAttendance Management and Engagement Policy
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A member of teaching staff who supports your academic, personal, and professional development. The first point of contact for all questions relating to your programme of study. First meeting takes place in Welcome Week
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Each academic year runs from September to June and is made up of two teaching terms (September-December and January-March) and an examination term
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The Assessment Handbook presents the University's assessment policies and procedures topic-by-topic, following the broad sequence of the assessment process
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Bachelors Degree
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Undergraduate degrees in the School of Politics, Economics and International Relations will be classified as either a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of Science (BSc)
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Board of Studies and Student Experience (BoSSE)
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A committee consisting of academics and elected student representatives from each Department. The Committee discusses student experience within each degree programme and meets termly. |
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Contact Hours
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Time with academics or other teaching staff |
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Course Rep
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An elected student representative for your Part or degree programme (elections arranged by Reading Students’ Union)
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Coursework |
Written or practical work completed during your course and assessed in order to count towards the final mark or grade
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Curriculum
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The topics taught as part of your individual modules |
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Department
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Within each school of study there are distinct departments |
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Deadline
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Date on which an assignment is due to be handed in (usually 12 noon on this date but please check individual assessment guidelines in your module handbook). Sometimes referred to as a submission point
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Department Director of Academic Tutoring (DDAT)
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A dedicated member of staff for each Department who assists the School Director of Academic Tutoring (SDTL) and oversees Exceptional Circumstances (EC) requests |
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Dissertation |
An extended essay on a subject chosen by a student. Dissertations are completed in the final year of an undergraduate degree. See our modules PO3DIS for Politics students or EC3DIS for Economics students
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Doctorate or PhD |
This is an academic or professional degree that, in most countries, qualifies the degree holder to teach their chosen subject at university level or to work in a specialised position in their chosen field
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Essay |
A piece of academic writing on a particular subject, completed to a specified wordcount
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Exceptional Circumstances (EC/ECF )
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Situations or difficulties outside a student’s control that negatively impact academic performance, and which may result in adjustments to assessments
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Feedback and Consultation Hours (F&C)
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Time set aside each week by academics for students to ask questions, seek guidance and clarify understanding. Set times are printed on staff office doors |
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Work that you may be given in order to evaluate and develop your understanding of a topic, but which will not count towards your final grade for the module
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Grade
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A mark indicating the quality of your work on a scale of 0-100. Section 10 of the Assessment Handbook provides further information. See also “Marking Rubric”
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Guided Independent study (GIS)
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The time students spend studying learning material in their own time, as required for each module |
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Handbook
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Each module has its own handbook which sets out the full requirements of the teaching and learning, including assessment requirements and submission dates. Course handbooks are available to view
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Head of Department (HoD)
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Academic with overall responsibility for the Department, its strategy and staff. on Blackboard |
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Head of School (HoS) |
Academic with overall responsibility for the School, its strategy and staff
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In Class Presentation |
A form of assessment requiring students to present their ideas to their peers. This can be as an individual or as a group and will vary between modules
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Late Penalty
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An assignment submitted after the deadline may be subject to late penalty marks. Full details available in this policy |
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Learner Responsibilities
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Guidelines to help students understand their responsibility to comply with the rules and regulations while studying at the University of Reading |
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Lecture
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Academic talk on a given subject delivered to a class of students |
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The Life Tools programme is a series of free talks designed by experts to help you transition into university life and enhance your student experience. The programme allows you to be proactive and take control of your learning and your personal and professional development
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Marking Rubric |
A scoring guide used to evaluate the quality of students’ assessments. See also “Grade”
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Masters Degree |
Qualification undertaken after completing an undergraduate degree, demonstrating mastery of a specific field of study |
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Chat, collaborate and meet virtually on Teams, part of the o365 suite free to students |
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Moderation
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The process whereby a second member of staff oversees the process of marking of coursework and examination papers |
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Module
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A unit of learning. There are 120 credits taken in each year of study in an undergraduate programme and each module is typically 10 or 20 credits. The exception is a Dissertation which may be more than 20 credits. At postgraduate level, students are required to take 180 credits, including the dissertation
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Module Code
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Unique code assigned to modules – see codes by school.
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Module Description
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MDF The outline details of a module, setting out the syllabus, teaching methods, contact hours, guided independent study hours, and assessment arrangements. The process of selecting your optional modules. In Part 1 this takes place during Welcome. In Parts 2 and 3 this takes place at the end of the spring term
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If you are an undergraduate or postgraduate taught student and your course offers optional modules, you will be required to select these online each year.
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the act of presenting someone else's work or idea as your own, by incorporating it into work without full acknowledgement. The University’s Academic Misconduct Policy outlines the penalties which can be applied
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Post-Results Exceptional Circumstances PREC
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Possibility to submit an ECF after knowing the results - to be used for final exams organised at university level only (usually around May-June) |
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Portfolio Review
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Pre-requisite |
Some modules require students to have studied certain other modules to ensure the correct level of prior learning. These required modules are called pre-requisites and are detailed in the Module Description (MDF).
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Programme
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Your degree course (for example BSc Economics, BA Politics and International Relations) Programme Handbook |
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Programme handbooks |
provide specific information on the School and how it supports its degree programmes, acting as a guide to the programme, providing students with advice on how to get the best out of their studies and about the programme structure and content.
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Programme Specification
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The structure of a programme of study, setting out compulsory modules, programme learning outcomes, and the rules to enable progression to the next year of study. These are all available to view on the website.
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Programme Director
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Member of staff responsible for the design and development of a particular degree, often a good source of advice about options and career paths for their given specialism.
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Progression Requirements
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The criteria which students need to satisfy to pass one year of study and enable progression to the next year of study. Full details are available in the Programme Specification for the year of entry onto the programme.
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RISIS
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The RISIS portal is home to your student records, where you can store and update personal information, select modules, see your timetable and marks, contact the Student Support Centre with a question, and much more!
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Reading University Students’ Union
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Provides social events and venues, volunteering opportunities, a range of clubs and societies and much more. Also offers a specialist Student Advice Team for advice on various issues, including academic, financial and welfare. |
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Research Seminar
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A series of term time weekly seminars for staff/students with presentations by both internal and external speakers. |
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School of Politics, Economics and International Relations SPEIR
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The Department of Economics and the Department of Politics and International Relations together form SPEIR. |
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School Rep
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An elected student representative for the School with oversight of the course representatives. Elections are arranged by RUSU. |
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School Director of Academic Tutoring SDAT
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Academic member of staff who works alongside the Department Directors of Academic Tutoring (DDATs) to oversee the Academic Tutor system and Exceptional Circumstances process |
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Scholarship |
An amount of money that is awarded by the University to a student in full/partial payment of fees
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School Director of Teaching and Learning SDTL |
Academic member of staff responsible for teaching and learning within the School and investigating cases of academic engagement and suspected academic misconduct
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Self-Certification
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You are permitted on two occasions in the course of an academic year to submit an EC request for a two-day extension for some assessments without providing evidence. Full details are outlined in the Policy on and procedures relating to exceptional circumstances
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Seminar
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Timetabled teaching session involving small group discussion. Topic often relates to preceding lecture and is a student’s opportunity to engage with the learning material and share ideas/collaborate with peers.
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STaR Mentors are current students that have been trained to help new students with their start at Reading. Mentors contact new students by email before they start and in person during the first term.
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The dashboard will display your completed and outstanding assessments, what your progress looks like and how this attainment compares to the goals that you can (optionally) set for yourself in your current Part and academic year. Access is via RISIS
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Student Support Co-ordinators
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SSC Provide support/advice on academic matters affecting students and their studies. These staff are based in the Support Centre in the Edith Morley building
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Student-Staff Partnership Group (SSPG )
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A group consisting of course reps and academics who meet once a term to discuss matters relating to student experience |
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Student Welfare
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A dedicated team who are there to help you with a wide variety of issues, from challenges due to settling in and adjusting to University life, difficulty with flatmates, crisis support, concerns for a friend, and much more, including if you don’t know who else to ask! The Welfare team is a good first point of contact. They will know where to redirect you if they can’t help directly
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Study Space Rooms
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set aside for quiet study on the third floor in Edith Morley Building (Rooms 305/305a and 306). Further space available in the library – see Study Space Summative assessment Work that you will be set, with a deadline, that contributes to your overall module result
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Summer Placement
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An extracurricular period of work experience completed over the summer. A great opportunity to build your skills and employability |
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Suspension
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The University supports students who wish to take time away from their programme if it is for compelling reasons such as ill health, pregnancy, employment opportunities, financial issues, etc. This is known as suspension and the University has a policy on this
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Timetable
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A student’s timetable will detail times and location of all taught sessions, as well as some central activities, ie Careers events. Welcome Week events are not timetable
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Transcript
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An academic transcript is an official document that shows units taken in each year of study, assessment grades for each unit, total number of credits gained in each unit taken and in each year of study, as well as degree awarded, degree classification and date of award
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Turnitin
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Software system which advises of similarity between assessment submissions |
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Tutorial
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Small group class |
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Week 6
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A week off from normal timetabled lectures |